Swords, Specters, & Stuff
Welcome to My World
I started this blog in January 2012 for one simple reason: I love to write. I named it “Swords, Specters, & Stuff” because I especially love to write about writing, about books and movies in my favorite genres, about authors that mean a great deal to me. But there’s more to it than that, which is why I included “Stuff” in the title. It is “Stuff” that gives me carte blanche to write about anything, which is why you’ll see stories about special trips to Cooperstown, Sedona, and other places; about getting older; about baseball; about the otherworldly way in which I met my soul mate; about the loss of good friends, and so much more. Enjoy! And feel free to leave a comment.
Throwback Thursday: Films About Writers—UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
In 1996 Frances Mayes, a writer, book reviewer, teacher, and foodie extraordinaire, published a memoir—replete with recipes—called UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN. The book spent over two years on the New York Times bestseller list, a remarkable achievement. A romantic comedy-drama “loosely based” on the book was inevitable, and that came about in 2003, with Diane Lane giving an excellent performance in the lead role.
Too Many Giants Spoil The Brew
The 2013 fantasy-adventure film, JACK THE GIANT SLAYER, is based on a nearly 300-year-old British fairytale titled, THE STORY OF JACK SPRIGGINS AND THE ENCHANTED BEAN. We all know it better as JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.
Throwback Thursday: Native American Film Gems—DREAMKEEPER
The excellent, Emmy Award-winning 2003 film, DREAMKEEPER, began life as a two-part Hallmark mini-series, which accounts for its three-hour length. But the time flies as you watch this spellbinding tale about a Lakota storyteller and his quest to see the oral tradition of his people carried on.
Guilty Pleasures: THE MEG
Okay, just to clarify, THE MEG is a borderline Guilty Pleasure by virtue of its so-so reviews (one reviewer said, “…neither good enough, or bad enough”), though it did do well at the box office, and a sequel is planned. Whatever; I would’ve enjoyed this creature feature no matter what.
Throwback Thursday: Oy! Jack Miller Rides Again
As one who loves to write, I enjoyed creating all my many published novels. But my comedy/sci-fi trilogy (BICYCLING THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, THE ULTIMATE BIKE PATH, and THE 22ND GEAR, all from Ace/Berkley) provided me with the most fun I ever had—and ultimately, sad to say, some heartache.
Graboids Never Say Die
That title is a double entendre, don’t you know? In the first place, the giant worm-things known as graboids are back on the small screen in TREMORS: SHRIEKER ISLAND (2020), the seventh film in the long-running Tremors franchise. And second, when a graboid dies a really gross creature called a shrieker emerges from its carcass to carry on the lineage.
Throwback Thursday: Mirror, Mirror…Who’s The Deadliest Of Them All?
Don’t look into the evil mirror! You might not like what you see. This post first ran in 2018.
The Last Voyage Of The SS SULTANA
Imagine that you’re a Union soldier imprisoned by the Confederacy during the Civil War. When the war ends you and your fellow prisoners are freed, and you’re finally going home! But you never make it there. Why? Because your northward journey up the Mississippi River is aboard the ill-fated SS SULTANA.
Throwback Thursday: “Are There No Prisons? Are There No Workhouses?”
This was supposed to be a “Christmas post” when it first ran in 2017, but since then it has been viewed countless times—in just about every month of the year.
A Galactic Rest Stop…In Wyoming?
In my comedy/science fiction series, bicyclist Jack Miller enters numerous worlds through “gates” along the cosmic tunnel known as the Ultimate Bike Path. It could be Earth’s past or future, otherworldly dimensions, even the pages of literature, among many others. While the majority of Jack’s adventures are wild and crazy, I often temper them with an occasional serious “statement” chapter, for want of a better word.
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